1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to license plate fasteners. More particularly, the invention concerns license plate fasteners that comprise a threaded fastener for securing the license plate to the vehicle and a decorative cover that is removably connected to the threaded fastener.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A number of different types of license plate fasteners have been suggested in the past for interconnecting license plates to the front and rear of vehicles. Exemplary of such license plate fasteners is the fastener disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,967 issued to Rosenbaum. The Rosenbaum invention concerns a bolt cap cover that comprises a locking retainer member that fits over the flats of a standard hex-headed bolt and a cap having a generally cylindrical inner surface that fits over the retainer. The retainer is made of a resilient material such as nylon and is designed such that it abuts the lateral flats of the bolt head when the cap is installed. The cap itself may be of various designs and materials, thereby permitting a variety of decorative appearances to be achieved. The cylindrical inner surface of the cap compresses the retainer against the flats of the bolt head as the cap is installed over the retainer, thereby securing both the cap and retainer to the bolt head.
Another type of prior art license plate fastener is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,549 issued to Fallon. The Fallon fastener comprises a generally tubular insert or adaptor made of a resilient material structure like Nylon that includes an annular first end surface surrounded by a peripheral skirt. The annular first end surface is engageable in the manner of a washer by the head of a license plate fastener that is otherwise surrounded by the skirt with the free edge of this skirt provided with an exterior peripheral bead shaped for radial capture in an interior recess formed in a domed, decorative covering cap. A circular seat provided on the domed cap exterior is then useful and conformed to receive one of variously marked plugs to match the logo, style or mark of the vehicle manufacturer or any other style or symbol.
A typical component of the prior art license plate fasteners is some type of retainer member that fits over the head of the fastener used to connect the license plate to the vehicle. The retainer member of the prior art devices constitutes the means by which the decorative cover portion of the device is affixed. In other words, the prior art devices consist of three parts, namely the threaded connector for connecting the license plate to the vehicle, the retainer member that fits over the threaded connector and the decorative head cover that is held in position by the retainer member. In sharp contradistinction, the novel apparatus of the present invention comprises only two components, namely a threaded fastener used to interconnect the license plate to the vehicle and a decorative cover that is removably interconnected directly with the head of the threaded fastener.